The True Organization
by Ejes
Summary: In which one man travels from world to world to hire the best people he can think of... Or just, basically, the only ones not hired yet.


_**Oh, look! Another fic that will be totally senseless once KH3 is out! Better hurry to read it before that, then!**_

* * *

His track led him to a casino. That wasn't really surprising, actually. This world seemed a bit more modern than what he was used too, but he'd been to many worlds before and this one unfazed him. The streets were dirty, the town was foggy, a very mysterious atmosphere on this night that he quite not disliked.

"That's a private room, mate. I can't let you in without the password."

The man guarding the door slid his hand to his belt, where a gun was hanging. He sighed. He had no time for this. He still had five other places to check in this world.

"Why don't you just sleep for a while?" With swift, graceful moves, he immobilised the man and put a fabric soaking with an oil of his production on his mouth. The man fell unconscious within seconds. He pushed the door and stepped above the sleeping body, entering the room.

It wasn't an official casino, of course. More of an illegal playing room, clouded with so much smoke it would have made the fog outside jealous, with several tables and men playing cards with important amount of money on the table, some jazz playing in the background.

No one really paid attention to him. He had switched his clothes for an outfit he used to wear long ago, a white shirt, a dark tailcoat and pink trousers (if anything, the trousers might have caught the attention, but no one seemed to care). His hair was hidden by a fedora hat, and it was fair to say he looked quite elegant.

He sat at a table, next to a man with bleached blonde hair. The croupier looked at him for a short moment, and when he put a few banknotes on the table, he received some cards. The other player whistled.

"That's a lot of money for a newcomer. It tells a lot about you."

"Oh? And what does it say?" His hat cast a shadow on his eyes, but his smile was pretty visible.

"Either you are an idiot who doesn't know anything about this game, and who is just trying to impress us, or you are someone with a lot of confidence in his skills. Which one will it be, I wonder…"

They started playing. He didn't really do bad, or good. He always won the exact amount he lost. The other man laughed.

"I think I like you, friend. I don't know who you are, but you are far from being an idiot. Let me buy you a drink."

A waiter brought two glass of an amber liquid. "To my new friend, the not-idiot." The bleached man said as he raised his glass. He smiled and took a sip of it.

"So this is your life now, _Luxord_? Playing cards all day and all night?"

The man laughed and took another gulp of his drink. "It's been a while since I heard that name. Although I might have to ask you to call me _Lourd_ now, as it is the name I go by, Marluxia. Or is it…"

Marluxia crooked a smile. "You've got the name right. It has been a while indeed."

Lourd added some more banknotes on the table. "I had a life before, you know. Before this world got swallowed by darkness. A wife, a son, a cosy little life. And then darkness appeared, ate up the world, I survived, turned into the man you knew, got hired by Xemnas, got defeated by a kid, and woke up here as if nothing happened. To most of them, I just disappeared for six years. My wife remarried, my son is calling another man 'Dad'."

"Now that you have a heart, that must have been painful."

Lourd shrugged. "Not really. Life is a game, you know. You can't win every time. And I know a lot about both winning and about time. It's okay. I found myself a new job, a new place to live, and I come here now and then to see if I can beat the odds one more night. Some nights I do, some I don't. No big deal."

Marluxia took his news cards and looked at them for a moment. "Don't you ever miss it? Your life as Number X."

"I would be lying if I said I don't. I live for the thrill. Hard not to miss a time when the stakes were so high. Nowadays, what do I have to lose? A couple of dollars? I'm not interested in money."

"Then what would you say about a job offer? It's quite simple : you can either win big, or lose it all. I'm not sure there will be a coming back if you lose, though."

Lourd put his cards down, with a very high combination. He gave both Marluxia and the croupier a satisfied smile.

"You should know by now that I almost never lose."

Marluxia smiled back, putting down his own cards down with the highest combination possible. " _Almost_ being the keyword."

Lourd burst into laughters as Marluxia picked up all of the money.

"You got me here. I'm all ears. Count me in. What's the plan?"

* * *

It was a small port town somewhere in a place called Germany. The air smelled of salt and fish, there were people shouting at every corner, a very lively place.

"Are you sure about this place?" Lourd asked, looking around.

"I am never sure, but it is likely." Marluxia answered with a sigh. Lourd scoffed. "Guess you were right on that one." He nodded towards some man sitting on the pavement, a couple of young women giggling around him. He had a sitar in his hands and was playing some kind of romantic melody, only making the women blush and giggle more. He was scrawnier than Marluxia remembered, his cheeks somehow hollow, his eyes tired.

"Hey ladies, I'm starving. Which of you divine creatures will do me the honour to invite me for lunch and spend some time… Just the two of us?"

"I volunteer for that." Marluxia threw a couple of coins to the man, who stared at him.

"You aren't quite my type, but… I wouldn't complain on free food!"

Just like Lourd, Marluxia was wearing an outfit hiding most of his facial features. The young man was known for being a coward, and he couldn't have him run away before he told him what he had to.

They settled down at the local inn, and Marluxia ordered two meals. Lourd sat a few tables away.

"Is this what you do for a living? Playing music in the streets?"

"I don't just play music. I am the best musician around. People call me _Dyem the Menestrel_." Dyem sighed. "I know they're just making fun of me, but I can live with that. I'm living a free life. Playing music, flirting with pretty girls, sometimes getting paid a hot meal or being offered a bed for a night. No work, only fun. The dream life."

"Doesn't that mean you often have to move, though? You don't look like much of a… traveler."

Dyem gave Marluxia an offended look, then relaxed.

"I was in that other village, before, but eventually people chased me away, you know, throwing rocks at me, the usual stuff. A sordid story of a hundred kids that disappeared right after they didn't pay me for a job. They think I have kidnapped these kids out of revenge, yadda yadda yadda. What would I do of a hundred kids? But I don't really feel sorry for them either. They should have paid me."

"And… Have you been living this life for long?" Marluxia feigned some interest, knowing it was the best way to get Dyem talk.

"Oh, no. A year or so. Before that, I was working with these guys, a bunch of psychos." He sighed. "But I guess… At least I never had to worry about whether or not I'd have a roof above my head every night, or wonder if I'll get three meals a day… And man, I could slack off a lot, take naps in the most amazing places."

Marluxia hid a smile. "You almost sound like you miss that life."

"Yeah, I wonder…" For a while, he stayed silent, enjoying his meal quietly. His frown gave a sad vibe to his turquoise eyes.

"Have you ever been with a group of people, felt that you didn't really belong there, and yet couldn't think of anywhere else to go?" He asked out of the blue, surprising Marluxia.

"Actually, I have. There were these people… In a way, it felt like I had no right to be with them, still it was somehow my place." Marluxia quickly snapped out of his memories of times lost long ago. He came here with one goal, not to spill his life out.

His words appeared to have soothed Dyem's worry, though. The musician nodded.

"I can get that. You know, that job I had, it was dangerous. I risked my life a lot, and I paid the price at some point, yet… I don't know, I guess I miss it. Spend years travelling to amazing places, never worrying about a thing, and this life I have here will look really boring. I see a lot of people, but I never get to really know them. They all sound… so similar. My coworkers were weirdos, but they all had their own thing, their own melody that made them unique. Heck, I even miss Larxene, and _she_ was the psycho queen."

Marluxia crooked a smile. "What if I offered you to see her again? What if you could get that dangerous but thrilling life back? What would you say?"

Dyem sighed. "I don't know, Marluxia. Thing is…"

"Oh? So you knew?"

Dyem laughed. "Did you really think a hat could make you anonymous? I spotted you the second you stepped into that street. I thought that maybe you had amnesia at first or something so I wouldn't say too much, but you clearly remember it all. Hi Luxord!"

"It's Lourd now." The bleached-hair man answered back, waving at them with an amused smile.

"Last time I worked for you guys, I _died_. I don't think I'm ready to die once again. And you talked about Larxene, but… Where is she?"

"She hasn't joined us yet. But she will soon."

Dyem stared at the ceiling for a while, then sighed again.

"I'm definitely going to regret that, this will probably lead to a brutal and painful death, but okay. I'm in. Please make sure Larxene isn't the one killing me."

* * *

"Do you know how to take that stupid heart away again?"

None of them had said a word yet. Actually, she couldn't possibly have _seen_ them, given Marluxia had opened the portal behind her and she had not moved her eyes from her book.

They were in a luxurious room in a luxurious mansion where everything probably costed more than any casual's person salary. She was sitting in an elegant wooden armchair, a book in her hand, facing a wall covered with books. Next to her seat, a small table had a steaming cup of coffee and a few more books on it. She was alone, her bare feet buried into a thick rug, facing away from them, and yet it felt like she knew exactly who she was talking to.

"I'm afraid I do not know how. You don't seem surprised by this visit."

She turned her page, still not sparing them a single look.

"Marluxia, darling, there isn't much that can surprise me nowadays. I lost my heart, I mastered the use of magic and could send tiny creatures attack people, I've seen a kid being able to rewrite some memories, I've been killed by another kid, and although I died, I woke up in the very place I lost my heart as if nothing had ever happened. You showing up is quite boring in comparison."

"We have come to offer you a job." Smiled Lourd. "Sora, Xehanort, Xemnas… You will get your revenge. What do you say?"

She turned another page. "That's sound like quite a programme. But I can't move from here. And last time I worked for you, Marluxia, it didn't really bring me any good luck."

Dyem frowned, and walked to her, being the first one to face her. She didn't even try to look at him.

"Come on, Larxene, it will be fun! You can choose between a life of thrill and… _this_ life, no offense, and you chose the comfy armchair? That's not the Larxene I knew!"

"First of all, quit that Larxene thing. My name's Arlene. And then, I told you. No matter what, I won't move."

But Dyem wouldn't take no as an answer. He took her wrist, pulling her.

"Now, get out of this chair, look at us in the eyes and tell us you don't want to come."

"Leave me alors, I said I wouldn't…" He had pulled, and pulled with so much strength that she couldn't fight back anymore. For a second, she was back to her feet, before collapsing on the floor. There was a moment of silence, that Dyem was the first one to break.

"Arlene? What… What's happening? Come on, get up."

" _I said I couldn't move_." Her voice was more of a hissing now, a sound full of hatred and anger. "Now who's the surprised one, Marluxia? Got struck by thunder around a year before Xemnas found me. When I woke up, my legs wouldn't work, although doctors from _all over_ assured me there was nothing wrong with them, that if I couldn't walk that was all in my mind. The day I lost my heart, I found them back instead. They were wrong. It wasn't in my mind. It was in my heart. So now that you are realising you have no use for a broken doll in your team, do me a favour and roast that chicken Sora's hanging out with because I can't stand him. Meanwhile, I will stay here and listen to my sister telling me what a lovely day she had and how nice the people were to her and other dull stories that you wouldn't understand."

Marluxia bitterly smiled. He understood pretty much. Once upon a time, he had a sister, too. A sister who disappeared too soon, and that he had promised to avenge, taking her role and responsibilities in that group to find out who killed her. Family and revenge were two themes he knew quite well.

"Tell me, Arlene. Were you able to walk, would you have joined us?"

For the first time, she lifted her face, looking right at him. "Without a second of hesitation. It killed me last time, but that was still more interesting than this city's gossips."

"It's settled, then!" Cheered Dyem, taking her arm back and pulling her to his back.

"What. Are. You. Doing." She snarled at him but he just ignored her.

"You said that when you lost your heart, your legs worked again. Means they're still functional. Perhaps no one around here can help you, but we have access to other worlds. _All_ the worlds. There should be at least one where someone can fix you! And if I have to annoy you long enough for you to finally kick me, so be it. No leaving comrades behind. That's what my brand new heart is telling me."

"Very well, I'm coming. But could I at least get some shoes first?" Her arms around Dyem's neck, she whispered very close to his ear. "That new heart of yours, I'll be sure to shred it into pieces."

Dyem gulped, Lourd laughed, and Marluxia noticed with a soft smile that her feet ever so slightly twitched.

* * *

This was his New Organization. The True Organization. A bunch of people not caring much about Light or Darkness. But a bunch of people looking for thrill, looking for revenge. _His_ Organization.

* * *

 _ **Let's play a game! Can you spot where they are from ? Hint : Luxord comes from a Disney movie, Demyx from a legend. Larxene doesn't come from any specific world so don't bother with her.**_

 _ **Also, yep, went full drama on this one, they are getting worse and worse lives. Also added some khux notes (and theories) here and there with Marlu.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed :D**_


End file.
